Illumina, the DNA-sequencing company, is bringing more artificial intelligence firms into an ambitious effort to map the building blocks of the human body.
According to a PR Newswire announcement, Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) said its Billion Cell Atlas program is expanding with new AI drug developers. The company stated that the alliance behind the program has added three new member companies.
Among the new members, according to the announcement carried by Yahoo Finance, is Formation Bio, described as an "AI-native" drug developer. Illumina characterized the additions as leaders in AI-driven drug work.
The Billion Cell Atlas is a program aimed at cataloging cells — the basic units of living tissue — at very large scale. Pairing that kind of biological reference data with companies that specialize in AI reflects a growing trend in the pharmaceutical world, where machine-learning tools are used to sift through massive datasets in the search for new medicines.
The source materials do not specify the names of all three new members beyond Formation Bio, the financial terms of the arrangement, or a timeline for the program's goals.
Why it matters: detailed maps of human cells, combined with AI, could help drug developers spot disease mechanisms and potential treatments faster — and Illumina's move signals how central AI partnerships are becoming to the future of drug discovery.